State extends Ga. 400 toll until 2020, whether you like it or not

• SRTA

The State Road and Tollway Authority decided this morning that motorists will keep paying those lovely tolls on Ga. 400 until 2020, violating a promise political officials made when the notoriously congested road was first proposed.

Sure, some of the revenue collected from the extended tolls is planned to pay for much-needed improvements along the highway — including a sorely-needed, long-delayed interchange at I-85 and Ga. 400.

But the manner in which the tollway authority and Gov. Sonny Perdue, who chairs SRTA, came to today's vote hasn't won the state many fans. (The AJC said the process was "shrouded in secrecy.")

Despite the governor's claims that the projects were selected after sitdowns with several business and community groups, we never saw any public hearings or efforts to solicit input from the general public, who also pay Ga. 400's tolls, prior to today's vote. Hell, we had to file an Open Records Request just to see the recommended projects, and we didn't even get that until 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday. (Download the project list here.)

In other words, some sunlight would've made things a little more palatable.

After the jump, a list of projects that the new toll revenues could fund, courtesy of the governor's office.